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News Dec 19

The war of words continues between two of Ottawa’s biggest businessmen.

With Trinity Development’s John Ruddy… Countersuing partner Eugene Melnyk with a billion dollar lawsuit in the battle over the Lebreton Flats redevelopment.

It all seems to comes down to an NHL arena…. Ottawa senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk and his group Capital Sports Management says it is prepared to move ahead with the current plan, favoured by the NCC, with one change.

They are proposing to assign trinity development group all of its interest in the retail, residential, commercial and recreational components of the project, as well as all the profits it would have been entitled to receive.

In exchange, CSMI said Trinity would assume its responsibilities to finance the arena, and any surplus profits would then belong to Trinity.

Trinity responded with a statement saying that Melnyk made it clear he was looking for a free arena – paid for by taxpayer dollars.

The National Capital Commission is set to review the situation at its next board meeting the end of January.

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Police are searching for a man wanted in connection with stealing four vehicles, fuel and shop tools in Hawkesbury.

Montreal police and the Hawkesbury OPP recovered the stolen items at a residence in east Hawkesbury township.

34 year old Jean-Phillip Dion, who also goes by Robillard, is being sought by police.

Anyone with information is being asked to call the Hawkesbury OPP.

Police are also asking businesses in the area who had diesel fuel stolen recently to call them.

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City crews continue to repair a water main break that paralyzed a section of Gatineau on December 18.

A number of homes were flooded and two had to be evacuated, after a massive break on Aledandre Tasche Blvd.

Thousands of people are still without clean water, and a boil water advisory remains in effect for about 25,000 people in Hull.

Officials are advising people in the affected area to run the cold tap until the water becomes clear, and then boil the water for a minute before consuming.

Schools and centres in the area that were closed December 18 will be open Wednesday.

Alexandre Tache is closed in both directions between Boucherville Hormidas Dupuis.

Another broken water main is affecting St. Rene Blvd E., resulting in a closure from Labrosse Ave. to Lorrain Blvd.

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The case of six students charged for allegedly sexually assaulting another student at a private school in Toronto is up in court today.

The teens face sex assault and assault charges for an incident at St. Michael’s College School that was caught on video.

The six teens, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were all released on bail after their first appearance in mid-November.

St. Michael’s expelled eight students amid a growing police investigation into eight incidents at the private Roman Catholic all-boys institution.

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Canada’s privacy watchdog is warning marijuana users to pay with cash rather than plastic if they’re worried about the collection of their personal information.

Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien notes that cannabis is illegal in most jurisdictions outside of Canada, and the personal information of cannabis users is, therefore, very sensitive.

Therrien suggests buyers can avoid the collection of their personal information by using cash instead of credit cards when buying pot from legal retail outlets.

However, this option is currently not available to Ontarians, who have little choice but to buy online until brick-and-mortar stores open in the spring.

Therrien says cannabis purchasers should further guard their privacy by not providing retailers with more personal information than necessary, other than what is legally required to verify their age.

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Doug Ford is defending the appointment of a family friend as Ontario’s police commissioner, despite an ongoing investigation into the premier’s role in the hiring process.

Ron Taverner, a 72-year-old superintendent with the Toronto police, did not initially qualify for the job, but the government has said it lowered the requirements to attract a wider range of candidates.

Now, the province’s integrity commissioner is investigating an Opposition complaint that Ford violated the Members’ Integrity Act by participating in the cabinet decision to appoint Taverner, a longtime friend of the premier’s family.

Taverner was set to start his new job on Monday, but over the weekend he announced that he would wait until the integrity commissioner’s probe was complete.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s confident he will win re-election next fall by sticking to a positive, thoughtful approach to difficult issues.

In a year-end roundtable with the Ottawa bureau of The Canadian Press, Trudeau says the positive tactic is in contrast to that of the Conservatives, whom he accuses of resorting to bumper-sticker slogans that prey on voters’ fears and prejudices.

Trudeau argues Canadians are getting wise to political leaders who promise simplistic solutions to complex issues and have become more aware of the dangers and consequences of populism.

Trudeau points to the growing disenchantment of Ontarians with P-C Premier Doug Ford, whose popularity has plunged in just six months amid some government controversies and difficulty moving forward with promises to save people money.

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Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says Ottawa’s 1.6-billion-dollar aid package for the ailing oilpatch is a start, but won’t fix the problem that has sent oil prices tumbling.

Notley says the industry is facing low prices because it can’t ship enough oil to foreign markets — so the government needs to fix the pipeline bottleneck and help get more crude to ports by railway.

Tim McMillan, C-E-O of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, says federal legislation also needs to be redrawn that would change how energy projects are approved so investment is no longer scared away.

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Days of impasse over funding for a border wall with Mexico appears to have ended with U-S President Donald Trump signalling he’s open to a deal to avoid a partial shutdown of the U-S government.

Trump’s press secretary said yesterday that Trump would consider other options than demanding five-billion dollars for the border wall, which Senate Democrats have said they wouldn’t give him.

A proposal in the works would keep the government funded past a midnight Friday deadline and into the early weeks of 2019.

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The court case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn isn’t over yet.

Flynn was expected to be sentenced yesterday in federal court for lying to the F-B-I about his contacts with Russians.

Instead, U-S District Judge Emmet Sullivan gave the retired general a tongue-lashing for his conduct and raised the prospect that he could spend time in prison.